Snow melting device



y 5, 1970 MAILLE I 3,509,871

snow MELTING DEVICE Filed Dec. 9, 1968 ,2 7 INVENTOR loarendo. IVA/ME a /4 BY GM. W

PA TENT A 651W United States Patent 3,509,871 SNOW MELTlN G DEVICE Laurendo Maill, 5290 Doherty Ave., Montreal 265, Quebec, Canada Filed Dec. 9, 1968, Ser. No. 782,338 Int. Cl. E014: 11/24; E01h /10 US. Cl. 126271.2 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A snow melting device for roadways including a heater box fitted with oil burners and provided with a bafile system situated between the burners and the casing mouth to distribute the hot gases substantially uniformly over the snow and prevent excessive localized heat which might damage the roadway surface.

The present invention relates to a machine for clearing streets, roads, railroad beds or the like, of ice and snow by melting the ice and snow in situ.

The general object of the present invention resides in the provision of a snow and ice melting apparatus adapted to be mounted in front of a truck or the like motor vehicle, which is of improved construction in that it incorporates baflle means to distribute the hot gases substantially uniformly over the area covered by the device in order for the gases to impinge on the snow or ground at substantially uniform temperature and thus prevent any excessive localized heat which may result in damage to the roadway surface.

Another object of the present invention resides in the provision of a melting device of the character described, of relatively simple and inexpensive construction and mounted in front of a motor vehicle for vertical adjustment so as to vary the height of the device with respect to the road surface in accordance with the thickness of the snow or ice.

The foregoing and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent during the following disclosure and by referring to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a motor vehicle or truck provided with the snow and ice melting device in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the device;

FIG. 3 is a plan section of the same; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-section, on an enlarged scale, of the snow and ice melting device.

Referring now particularly to the drawings in which like reference characters indicate like elements throughout, FIG. 1 illustrates the system for the removal of snow and ice embodying the invention, said system comprising a heater box 1 suspended above the road surface 2 by means of a fork lifter arrangement, generally indicated at 3 and carried by the front of a motor vehicle or truck 4.

Box 1 is fitted with oil burners 5 which produce flame in the heater box 1, which, as the vehicle 4 moves forward, will cause the snow or ice to melt and to run into the gutters to be led away into the storm sewers.

The fork lifter 3 may be of any suitable conventional arrangement and may include a frame 6 removably secured to truck 4 at the front thereof, parallel links 7 pivotally connected to the frame 6 and to the heater box 1, and a hydraulic cylinder and piston unit 8, also pivotally connected to the heater box 1 and to frame 6 and serving to adjust the height of box 1 above road surface 2.

The burners 5 are themselves of conventional construction and may be fed with oil and air under pressure by means of tubing 9 connected to an oil pump and an air blower, mounted on the vehicle or truck 4, said truck carrying a reservoir 10 for supplying fuel oil. I

Heater box 1 is made of rigid sheet metal and is of rectangular shape with its long axis disposed transversely of the long axis of truck 4. Heater box 1 comprises front and back transverse walls 11 and 12 respectively and end Walls 13 which define a bottom and top opening of the full size of the box.

However, the top opening of the box is closed by a removable cover 14 to gain access to the interior of the box. Said cover 14 includes a top horizontal Wall 15, vertical end walls 16 making continuation of the end wall 13 of box 1 and inclined front and back Walls 17 and 18 respectively converging upwardly.

The oil burners 5 are inserted through and supported by the inclined front and back walls 17 and 18, so that their long axes are inclined with respect to the vertical and the burners are directed toward the central longitudinal vertical plane of the heater box 1, and the burners at the back are offset longitudinally of the box with respect to the burners at the front.

More specifically, there is one burner 5 extending through back wall 18 at the middle thereof and centrally of the box and two burners 5 extending through the front wall 17. The front burners 5 are disposed on each side of the back burner approximately mid-way between the center of box 1 and the ends thereof.

In accordance with the main feature of the present invention, the lower one-third of heater box 1, as denoted by horizontal line 19 in FIG. 1, is provided with a bafile system, generally indicated at 20, in order to distribute the combustion gases which are ver hot uniformly over the snow and ice to be melted and thus prevent any excessive local heating which might damage the paving of the road. The lower one-third of box 1 may be made as a unit detachable from the remaining top two-thirds of box 1 to gain access to the baflle system.

The baflle system 20 comprises a plurality of deflector members 21 and 22 and two deflector members 23.

All these deflector members are of elongated shape with a uniform cross-sectional shape and are disposed longitudinally of heater box 1, that is transversely of the long axis of truck 4.

Deflector members 21 have an inverted V-shaped crosssection defining three flanges 24, 25, of substantially equal length.

Flange 24 is upwardly and vertically directed, While flanges 25 are downwardly inclined and provide at their free edge with a horizontal marginal portion 26, of short width.

The deflector members 21 are disposed in at least three rows vertically spaced apart an equal distance. The deflector members 21 of the top and bottom rows are vertically aligned, while the deflector members 21 of the middle row are laterally staggered with respect to the deflector members of the top and bottom rows and are disposed such that their vertical flange 24 is equally spaced from and lies between the vertical flanges 24 of the deflector members of the top and bottom rows.

Also, the top edge of the vertical flanges 24 of the deflector members of the middle and bottom rows extends above the marginal portions 26 of the flanges 25 of the deflector members of the next upper row.

Deflector members 22 are in two rows and have an inverted V-shaped cross-section; they are disposed spacedly on top of the vertical flange of the deflector members 21 of the middle and bottom rows. Thus, the upwardly converging equally downwardly inclined flanges of the deflector members 22 are directed towards the marginal portions 26 of the deflector members 21 of the top and middle rows respectively and are spaced therefrom and terminate above the same.

The pair of deflector members 23 are disposed outwardly of the endmost deflector members 22 at the level of the flanges 25 and marginal portion 26 of the deflector members 21 of the middle row.

Each deflector member 23 includes an inclined flange 27 and a horizontal marginal lower portion 28 which are disposed as if they would form part of another deflector member 21 on the outside of the endmost deflector member 22. Further, the deflector members 23 are close to but spaced from the front and back walls 11 and 12 of heater box 1.

The bafile system 20' is maintained in position by means of end support plates 29 located vertically within the box 1 and parallel to and spaced from the end walls 13 of said box.

Each support plate 29 is provided with slits for the insertion of the various deflector members 21, 22, and 23 which extend beyond the same and close to the end walls 13 of the heater box. The support plates 29 themselves are rigidly secured to the Walls of box 1 by welding or other means, not shown.

The bafile system 20 defines a plurality of zigzag passages for the hot combustion gases which reach the bottom of the box 1 and, consequently, the ice or snow cover on the road at substantially uniform temperature due to the thorough mixing of the gases by the baflle system.

It will be noted that there is a relatively large free space between the marginal portions 26 of the deflector members 21 of the bottom row, whereby the gases can move vertically downwardly and also at nearly horizontal angle to distribute themselves uniformly below the deflector members 21v of the bottom row to impinge on the snow and ice on the entire surface exposed in box 1.

If the snow covering is relatively thin, the snow or ice will melt completely and the road paving will also be dried by the machine of the present invention; but, at no time, will any excessive localized heating damage the road paving.

I claim:

1. A snow and ice melting machine comprising a heater box, means to mount the heater box in front of a motor vehicle to be moved by the latter over the snow or ice to be melted, said heater box of generally rectangular shape and with its axis adapted to be transverse to the long axis of said motor vehicle, said box open at the bottom, a cover for the top of said lbox having inclined transverse front and back walls, said walls converging upwardly, pressurized fuel oil and air fed burners inserted through and carried by said inclined front and back Walls and converging downwardly towards the central longitudinal vertical plane of said box and a baflle system arranged within said box and below said burners, said bafile system including a plurality of first deflector members of elongated shape extending longitudinally of said box and transversely to the long axis of said truck, said first deflector members disposed in at least three horizontal superposed rows, the deflector members of each row being equally spaced apart, the deflector members of the central row being laterally offset with respect to the deflector members of the top and bottom rows, the deflector members of the top and bottom rows being vertically aligned in pairs, said first deflector members having an inverted Y-shaped cross-section with a central vertical flange and two diverging downwardly inclined lower flanges, the vertical flange of the deflector members of the lower rows extending above and spaced from the inclined lower flanges of the deflector members of an upper row.

2. A snow and ice melting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said baflle system further includes second deflector members having an inverted V-shapedvcrosssection and disposed above the vertical flange of the deflector members of at least the bottom row'and spaced from the same.

3. A snow and ice melting device as claimed in claim 1, further including horizontal marginal portions at the free edges of said inclined lower flanges of said first deflector members.

4. A snow and ice melting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the burners inserted through the back inclined wall of said cover are olfset longitudinally of said box with respect to the burners inserted through the front inclined wall of said cover.

5. A ice and snow melting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein said baflle system is arranged in and occupies only the lower one-third portion of said box and the upper two-third portion of said box is free of any' obstruction.

6. A snow and ice melting machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the burners inserted through the back inclined wall of said cover are offset longitudinally of said box with respect to the burners inserted through the front inclined wall of said cover.

7. A snow and ice melting machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein the burners inserted through the back inclined wall of said cover are offset longitudinally of said box with respect to the burners inserted through the front inclined wall of said cover.

8. A ice and snow melting machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein said baflle system is arranged in and occupies only the lower one-third portion of said box and the upper two-third portion of said box is free of any obstruction.

9. A ice and snow melting machine as claimed in claim 3, wherein said baflle system is arranged in and occupies only the lower one-third portion of said box and the upper two-third portion of said box is free of any obstruction.

10. A snow and ice melting machine as claimed in claim 1, wherein the burners inserted through the back inclined wall of said cover are offset longitudinally of said box with respect to the burners inserted through the front inclined wall of said cover, and wherein said baffle system is arranged in and occupies only the lower onethird portion of said box and the upper two-third portion of said box is free of any obstruction.

11. A snow and ice melting machine as claimed in claim 2, wherein the burners inserted through the back inclined wall of said cover are oifset longitudinally of said box with respect to the burners inserted through the front inclined wall of said cover, and wherein said baffle system is arranged in and occupies only the lower onethird portion of said box and the upper two-third portion of said box is free of any obstruction.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 805,337 11/1905 Blake et al. 1,157,297 lO/l9l5 Cowell. 2,706,863 4/1955 Jones l26343.5 X

3,108,586 10/1963 Wilson.

FOREIGN PATENTS 129,998 11/1948 Australia.

CHARLES J. MYHRE, Primary Examiner 

